Arjun Maini to make Macau Grand Prix debut

Seventeen-year-old Arjun Maini will take part in the historic Macau Grand Prix later this month with the T-Sport Formula 3 team.

Traditionally held in November, the Macau GP is a popular racing festival with multiples races scheduled over one weekend. The Formula 3 round is the highlight of the event and draws some of the best up-and-coming drivers in the world.

“I’m quite excited to be working with a new team for this race," said Maini. "The track is going to be a completely different challenge to Pau, as there are quite a few long straights with some extremely fast corners thrown into the mix. T-Sport have had quite a few really good results here and I’m sure if we can work together there’s no reason why we can’t bring home a good result. We had a two day Test in Silverstone to simulate the Set up at Macau and I was happy with the Testing.”

Maini completed his first season in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship this year and finished 18th out of a field of 43 drivers. It was a troubled first season with a fourth and fifth place finish at the Pau street circuit being the highlight among just four points scoring finishes over the course of the 11-round, 33-race season. Maini had raced with Van Amersfoort Racing but will race for T-Sport a team with which Karun Chandhok previously competed during his days in British Formula 3. The team's car will be powered by an engine manufactured by Tomei, a tuning company that works with Japanese car-maker Nissan. Maini will be the sole driver for the team that managed to score a podium finish in last year's event.

“We are all happy here at ThreeBond with T-Sport to have Arjun driving with us for this year’s race," said team boss Russell Eacott. "He has shown at the this season’s Pau Grand Prix that he likes street races and the Macau Grand Prix is the world’s ultimate street race, as a Macau rookie we realize it will be tough challenge but not impossible to get a good result.’’

Arjun Maini will follow in the footsteps of Narain Karthikeyan, who was the first Indian driver to compete at the event whose previous winners have included Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher.

The event is scheduled to be run from 19th to 22th of November.